Cheeky way of prescribing solpadol brand

[Mr Pharm S]

Getting prescriptions for co-cod caps 30/500 but in the dosage its says please give solpadol brand.

co-codamol 30/500 caps
1-2 capsules qds please give solpadol brand
100

Will this be paid as solpadol? Especially with ETP, will the PPA read this as just generic as the brand is written as a dose?

[JonF]

Needs prescribing as Solpadol as PPA computers will only pay for generic, so i have been told

[Jeff]

Getting prescriptions for co-cod caps 30/500 but in the dosage its says please give solpadol brand.

co-codamol 30/500 caps
1-2 capsules qds please give solpadol brand
100

Will this be paid as solpadol? Especially with ETP, will the PPA read this as just generic as the brand is written as a dose?

Makes sense to me
If the patient is going to get Solpadol anyway if they demand it (and in most cases they do - half the time it's the default brand equalisation).
Then there might as well be a hint on the script as well as on the PMR.
(And yes you'll be paid the DT price)
It's also an opportunity to undertake an MUR so that you can get patient preferences on your PMR.

Jeff

[johnep]

Way back in the 50s, 'ethical' cos made standard generics. BW gave them up. Their products were marketed under 'Tabloid'. British Drug Houses had a campaign to try to get Drs to add 'preferably BDH' to their scripts. All futile.
I did locum once where the proprietor (a widow), gave us 'Gardenal' brand of phenobarb as her customers demanded quality. In another we dispensed in glass bottles whereas BTC used cardboard skillets.

Also some pharmacists refused to use PIs until the DOH started assuming we all did.
johnep

[PinkGlitter]

I think if you put asterisks each side of where it says "solpadol brand" then the PPA automated system flags it and then it gets put through manually.
I keep getting scripts for E45 lotion then says please supply Endless" which totally baffled me until I found out it was the Endless Moisture version which is new. I asterisk it and put it in the calendar pack/broken bulk file so it will definitely be put through manually and not via PPA computer.

[jaymags]

I was always told that if a brand was specified as well as the generic then we could give the brand. We get it quite a lot with diltiazem and isosorbide.

[DavidS]

Some people might suggest that you just cross the inconvenient option out, but I couldn't possibly comment.

I do know that if the script is goes through the Comically Incompetant Pennypinchers system, you will be hard put to get paid for anything that isn't on the "Drug Name" line. Trying to amend a barcoded script won't help unless you mess up the coding, of course. When etp comes in, if it ever does, I suppose it will be one more thing we need to amend on the label!

[Pharmanaut]

Some people might suggest that you just cross the inconvenient option out, but I couldn't possibly comment.

I do know that if the script is goes through the Comically Incompetant Pennypinchers system, you will be hard put to get paid for anything that isn't on the "Drug Name" line. Trying to amend a barcoded script won't help unless you mess up the coding, of course. When etp comes in, if it ever does, I suppose it will be one more thing we need to amend on the label!

There was a PSNC circular that mentioned that anything in the instructions that modified the name on the drug line needs to have a couple of asterisks in front so that the emphanistically named capacity improvement program computer system snags the scanned script out to a manual operator, as mentioned by the previous poster.

[johnep]

Drs do this because they are paid a bonus for prescribing generically but the pt wants the brand. In future I will be doing as suggested and highlighting the brand request.
johnep

[Pharmanaut]

Drs do this because they are paid a bonus for prescribing generically but the pt wants the brand. In future I will be doing as suggested and highlighting the brand request.
johnep

Its a pain in the neck when a proprietary is listed as a formula, for example Anusol.